Although in this blog I have shown the evident disconnect between literacy in practice and literacy in theory, I haven't really analyzed the effects this disconnect has on the students. In my last post, I asked whether adult literacy sites were doing a disservice to students by following an autonomous model of literacy. I don't believe that there is a concrete answer to this question.
I agree with proponents of the ideological model of literacy in saying that literacy education is political. However, I have seen the benefits that depoliticized literacy education has brought to the students at Tolton. One of the students at Tolton related the story of how she used to take literacy courses at Harold Washington City College because she was ashamed to tell people that she couldn’t read. When people asked her why she was going to school, she would lie about what she was studying. She finally started taking classes at Tolton and now she can read and is preparing for her GED test. The supportive community at Tolton made her feel proud of her accomplishment and of her continuing struggle to get her GED. She says she now tells everyone exactly what she is going to school for. The pride that she gained in her accomplishments would likely diminish if she was asked to question, criticize, distrust, and devalue the system in which she is trying to enter.
I also agree with Freire and Prendergast in that reading, writing, and math alone cannot counter the systematic oppression of minority groups in our society. There are many other factors that impede the upward social mobility of the underclass. However, I have seen the "other" value that literacy has for academically marginalized adults. If we only consider how literacy allows or disallows the economic progress of individuals and society, we are ignoring the other benefits that can be gained from literacy education.
A 70-year-old student at Tolton, for example, spoke about how all her life she had been a quiet person who kept to herself, but that learning how to read at the Tolton Center had helped her to come out of her shell and start talking to people. She said she now talks to everyone--that she actually talks too much! This is a student whose age, race, and socioeconomic status impede her from gaining much, if any, monetary or political advancement from her newly acquired literacy skills. However, she has directly and personally benefited from literacy acquisition. Whether her new confidence came from being able to read--from joining the ranks of the literate--or simply from being in an environment that fosters friendship and community, this student's life improved because of literacy education.
These are the "other" values of literacy. To link the disconnect between literacy in practice and literacy in theory, scholars must analyze how these "hidden" benefits of literacy education problematize literacy theories. I think that in wanting to create a literacy model that will benefit marginalized communities at large, theorists are ignoring the benefits that literacy education has on singular marginalized students.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Literacy in Theory - the Ideological Model
Brian Street and other scholars support the ideological model of literacy. Followers of the ideological model contend the following:
1. Literacy is a social and community activity--not simply an academic one.
2. "Literacy can only be known to use in forms which already have political and ideological significance" (Street 8). In other words, literacy is never neutral.
3. Literacy instruction--what is being taught to whom--depends on aspects of social structure such as stratification.
4. There are multiple literacies instead of one literacy.
5. They focus on the overlap between oral and literate cultures instead of perpetuating the myth of "the great divide."
6. They investigate the role of literacy teaching in social control and "the hegemony of the ruling class." (Street 8)
Literacy in theory takes a critical approach. Scholars who follow this model question the power structure inherent in the values and functions of literacy. Jonathan Kozol, for example, in Illiterate America, claims that our stratified economic system needs illiterates to perform the jobs that no one would want to perform given other opportunities. A high illiteracy rate serves the purposes of capitalism. The people at the top of the social hierarchy, according to Kozol, purposefully keep the poor and uneducated classes at the bottom so that the former may remain at the top.
Similarly, Catherine Prendergast questions “who benefits" from the current stratification of our society based on literacy levels. She claims that the current system keeps minorities--particularly African Americans--in the lowest rungs of society. Furthermore, she asks, "How do people use the literacy they have acquired to address the persistence of racial discrimination in the face of formal equal protection under the law?" (Prendergast 4)
The goals of followers of the ideological model do not correspond with the goals of the participants of literacy in practice. From my experience tutoring at the Tolton Center and what I have heard of the experiences of my classmates who tutor at similar adult literacy sites throughout Chicago, literacy in practice always tries to be neutral. Neither teachers nor students discuss how literacy acquisition perpetuates the stratification of our society. Literacy in practice also defines literacy as academic--not social. Literacy is part of the classroom and separate from daily activities. Is literacy in practice shortchanging the student by forgetting to examine the sociopolitical implications of the literacy system?
1. Literacy is a social and community activity--not simply an academic one.
2. "Literacy can only be known to use in forms which already have political and ideological significance" (Street 8). In other words, literacy is never neutral.
3. Literacy instruction--what is being taught to whom--depends on aspects of social structure such as stratification.
4. There are multiple literacies instead of one literacy.
5. They focus on the overlap between oral and literate cultures instead of perpetuating the myth of "the great divide."
6. They investigate the role of literacy teaching in social control and "the hegemony of the ruling class." (Street 8)
Literacy in theory takes a critical approach. Scholars who follow this model question the power structure inherent in the values and functions of literacy. Jonathan Kozol, for example, in Illiterate America, claims that our stratified economic system needs illiterates to perform the jobs that no one would want to perform given other opportunities. A high illiteracy rate serves the purposes of capitalism. The people at the top of the social hierarchy, according to Kozol, purposefully keep the poor and uneducated classes at the bottom so that the former may remain at the top.
Similarly, Catherine Prendergast questions “who benefits" from the current stratification of our society based on literacy levels. She claims that the current system keeps minorities--particularly African Americans--in the lowest rungs of society. Furthermore, she asks, "How do people use the literacy they have acquired to address the persistence of racial discrimination in the face of formal equal protection under the law?" (Prendergast 4)
The goals of followers of the ideological model do not correspond with the goals of the participants of literacy in practice. From my experience tutoring at the Tolton Center and what I have heard of the experiences of my classmates who tutor at similar adult literacy sites throughout Chicago, literacy in practice always tries to be neutral. Neither teachers nor students discuss how literacy acquisition perpetuates the stratification of our society. Literacy in practice also defines literacy as academic--not social. Literacy is part of the classroom and separate from daily activities. Is literacy in practice shortchanging the student by forgetting to examine the sociopolitical implications of the literacy system?
Friday, June 5, 2009
Other factors - Community values
[Pat]
Pat stopped going to high school when she got pregnant her senior year of high school. Soon after giving birth she started working at a meatpacking plant and saw no use in returning to school to graduate.
Years later, the same meatpacking plant that kept her out of school shut its doors. “I started looking for jobs but they all needed a GED.” Her only choice was to go back to school. She now devotes her time to preparing for the GED test that she plans on taking this summer.
“When I get my GED people will see me different for sure. Without that piece of paper, I was at a stand still. Once I get my GED, I’ll be on top of the world.”
Prendergast writes, "How people experience literacy development becomes bound up with how they perceive their own identity, and the identity of others" (Prendergast 10).
Although Pat now sees the value of literacy in her life, when she was younger she didn't see the point of education. There wasn't someone in her community to push her to quit working to go back to school. Making money was of utmost importance. Thus, literacy acquisition for Pat was tied to her perceived identity within her community and its values. In her community, it was more valuable to make money right away than to postpone the paycheck and return to school. Furthermore, in her community, there wasn't someone who could support Pat and her newborn child while she finished school. As a member of her community, she had little choice but to quit school to work at the meatpacking plant. This choice made the most sense to her life in her community.
Pat stopped going to high school when she got pregnant her senior year of high school. Soon after giving birth she started working at a meatpacking plant and saw no use in returning to school to graduate.
Years later, the same meatpacking plant that kept her out of school shut its doors. “I started looking for jobs but they all needed a GED.” Her only choice was to go back to school. She now devotes her time to preparing for the GED test that she plans on taking this summer.
“When I get my GED people will see me different for sure. Without that piece of paper, I was at a stand still. Once I get my GED, I’ll be on top of the world.”
Prendergast writes, "How people experience literacy development becomes bound up with how they perceive their own identity, and the identity of others" (Prendergast 10).
Although Pat now sees the value of literacy in her life, when she was younger she didn't see the point of education. There wasn't someone in her community to push her to quit working to go back to school. Making money was of utmost importance. Thus, literacy acquisition for Pat was tied to her perceived identity within her community and its values. In her community, it was more valuable to make money right away than to postpone the paycheck and return to school. Furthermore, in her community, there wasn't someone who could support Pat and her newborn child while she finished school. As a member of her community, she had little choice but to quit school to work at the meatpacking plant. This choice made the most sense to her life in her community.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Other factors - school funding
After talking to Lolita (see post 6/1/09), I started to think about the "other factors" that had kept the students at the Tolton Center from succeeding in the traditional school setting.
[Latesha]
Latesha stopped going to high school during her senior year when she got sick with pneumonia. Although she says she kept track of her schoolwork with the help of a tutor, one month before graduation she received the news that she was missing half a credit to graduate. She didn't have the option of making up the credit during summer school. If she wanted that half credit, she would have to do an entire year of school. Discouraged, she dropped out.
She went back to school to get her GED so that she can become a registered nurse. “You have to have [your GED]. Not having it stopped me from getting jobs that I want.”
She also wants to inspire her kids to stay in school. “I want them to see a strong woman in me.”
It is ridiculous that Latesha, now an intelligent and dedicated student, had to drop out of high school because she was missing half a credit to graduate. With little funding for summer school programs, some public schools are limited to only offering core courses (English, math, science, etc.) in summer school. If a student needs to make up a half credit in music or art, she will have to do so during the regular school year. Lack of school funding in low-income neighborhoods plays a decisive role in determining the educational paths of students. Furthermore, because public schools are partly funded through property taxes, primarily African Americans and other minorities suffer the consequences of this discriminatory school funding policy. In one of the public high schools in West Garfield Park, for example, 94.8% of the students were considered "low-income" and 91.4% of the students were African American (Chicago Public Schools). Low-income communities made up mostly of minorities don't have the funding to adequately support their children through their K-12 school years.
[Latesha]
Latesha stopped going to high school during her senior year when she got sick with pneumonia. Although she says she kept track of her schoolwork with the help of a tutor, one month before graduation she received the news that she was missing half a credit to graduate. She didn't have the option of making up the credit during summer school. If she wanted that half credit, she would have to do an entire year of school. Discouraged, she dropped out.
She went back to school to get her GED so that she can become a registered nurse. “You have to have [your GED]. Not having it stopped me from getting jobs that I want.”
She also wants to inspire her kids to stay in school. “I want them to see a strong woman in me.”
It is ridiculous that Latesha, now an intelligent and dedicated student, had to drop out of high school because she was missing half a credit to graduate. With little funding for summer school programs, some public schools are limited to only offering core courses (English, math, science, etc.) in summer school. If a student needs to make up a half credit in music or art, she will have to do so during the regular school year. Lack of school funding in low-income neighborhoods plays a decisive role in determining the educational paths of students. Furthermore, because public schools are partly funded through property taxes, primarily African Americans and other minorities suffer the consequences of this discriminatory school funding policy. In one of the public high schools in West Garfield Park, for example, 94.8% of the students were considered "low-income" and 91.4% of the students were African American (Chicago Public Schools). Low-income communities made up mostly of minorities don't have the funding to adequately support their children through their K-12 school years.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Lolita's story - Literacy as the Path to Equal Opportunity
Lolita is a thirty-something single African American woman who has been living in West Garfield Park for most of her life. She is a rarity at Tolton. She’s not there to get her GED. She actually graduated from one of the high schools in the neighborhood. However, when she went to city college she struggled with her college courses.
Although Lolita says she went to a “pretty good high school,” the classes that she placed into were not designed for college-bound students.
She says, “I should have the skills. I don’t have the skills.”
She said that the reason that she quit college was because she couldn’t pass English 100. She took it four times and could not pass; the first three times, she received federal aid to pay for the classes, but the fourth time she had to pay for herself because the government will not pay for the same class more than three times. After she failed ENG100 a fourth time, Lolita couldn’t afford to stay in school. She wants to go back to school and study nursing (she has volunteered at a hospital for years) but wants to improve her writing first so that she can move beyond ENG100.
“Literacy will let me get higher paying jobs. It might take a while to move up… there are other factors that may keep you from moving up… but you need reading, writing, and understanding to move up in the world.”
For Lolita, the motivation for improving her reading, writing, a math skills is to be able to finally move toward her career as a nurse. She sees this as the only path to a better life. Lolita thinks that only through improved literacy will she be able to move in the path to equal opportunity.
Will Lolita's hard work at the Tolton Center really lead her to a better life? Or are there too many other factors that will keep her static despite her best try?
Catherine Prendergast wrote that after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision that overturned the "separate but equal" mentality in public education, America has adopted the "notion of education as the path to equal opportunity" (Prendergast 2). Prendergast writes that the Brown v. Board of Ed decision basically created a false pretense of equal opportunity. In other words, when African American children were finally allowed to go to school with Whites, other factors that contributed to the oppression of African Americans were no longer taken into account.
What other factors of oppression are not being taken into account in Lolita's life? What about the "pretty good high school" that Lolita attended? Was it one of the underfunded public schools in Lolita's low-income neighborhood? Why did Lolita fail in community college? Was she perhaps enduring language policies that discriminated against African American English varieties?
I don't know the specifics about Lolita's life. I hope to be able to talk to her about these things some day. However, it is hard to imagine that she has had the same opportunities as someone living in a nicer part of town.
I agree with Prendergast in thinking that public education plays a big role in the perpetuation of the literacy myth. America believes that because the government provides all children with public education, that this puts everyone on equal footing to compete for jobs, access, and power. I wish I could tell Lolita that this is true.
Although Lolita says she went to a “pretty good high school,” the classes that she placed into were not designed for college-bound students.
She says, “I should have the skills. I don’t have the skills.”
She said that the reason that she quit college was because she couldn’t pass English 100. She took it four times and could not pass; the first three times, she received federal aid to pay for the classes, but the fourth time she had to pay for herself because the government will not pay for the same class more than three times. After she failed ENG100 a fourth time, Lolita couldn’t afford to stay in school. She wants to go back to school and study nursing (she has volunteered at a hospital for years) but wants to improve her writing first so that she can move beyond ENG100.
“Literacy will let me get higher paying jobs. It might take a while to move up… there are other factors that may keep you from moving up… but you need reading, writing, and understanding to move up in the world.”
For Lolita, the motivation for improving her reading, writing, a math skills is to be able to finally move toward her career as a nurse. She sees this as the only path to a better life. Lolita thinks that only through improved literacy will she be able to move in the path to equal opportunity.
Will Lolita's hard work at the Tolton Center really lead her to a better life? Or are there too many other factors that will keep her static despite her best try?
Catherine Prendergast wrote that after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision that overturned the "separate but equal" mentality in public education, America has adopted the "notion of education as the path to equal opportunity" (Prendergast 2). Prendergast writes that the Brown v. Board of Ed decision basically created a false pretense of equal opportunity. In other words, when African American children were finally allowed to go to school with Whites, other factors that contributed to the oppression of African Americans were no longer taken into account.
What other factors of oppression are not being taken into account in Lolita's life? What about the "pretty good high school" that Lolita attended? Was it one of the underfunded public schools in Lolita's low-income neighborhood? Why did Lolita fail in community college? Was she perhaps enduring language policies that discriminated against African American English varieties?
I don't know the specifics about Lolita's life. I hope to be able to talk to her about these things some day. However, it is hard to imagine that she has had the same opportunities as someone living in a nicer part of town.
I agree with Prendergast in thinking that public education plays a big role in the perpetuation of the literacy myth. America believes that because the government provides all children with public education, that this puts everyone on equal footing to compete for jobs, access, and power. I wish I could tell Lolita that this is true.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Literacy in Practice - the Autonomous Model of Literacy
Perhaps the disconnect between literacy in theory and literacy in practice is that while theorists usually agree with Brian Street’s ideological model, those personally and actively involved in the practice of literacy acquisition (students, teachers, tutors, etc.) follow something closer to Street’s autonomous model. In this post, I will briefly describe the autonomous model of literacy and then write about some Tolton Center students and teachers that unknowingly but wholeheartedly follow this model.
Although Street and other literacy scholars have been very critical of the autonomous model, my aim is not to criticize those who follow that model here. I have seen the effects of literacy in the self-esteem of Tolton Center students. I am not about to criticize a model that serves to increase the self-respect of adults who have been beaten down by the hegemonic system in which the live. I simply want to raise awareness of the difference between literacy in theory and literacy in practice.
According to Street, the autonomous model of literacy “assumes a single direction in which literacy development can be traced, and associates it with ‘progress’, ‘civilization’, individual literacy and social mobility… It isolates literacy as an independent variable and then claims to be able to study its consequences. These consequences are classically represented in terms of economic ‘take off’ or in terms of cognitive skills” (Street 2).
In other words, the autonomous model sees literacy as the key to upward social mobility and critical thinking. It emphasizes the idea of “the great divide” between those who are literate (who by this model can develop logical and abstract thinking skills) and those who are not (who by this model cannot). The autonomous model claims that literacy learning is politically neutral; that literacy is a technical skill devoid of sociopolitical implications. (Street 21) The model also emphasizes the inherent value of literacy.
Street writes that those who follow the autonomous model believe that “there are functions of language that are significantly affected by the mastery of a writing system, particularly logical functions. Written forms, they argue, enable the user to… maintain social or interpersonal relations between people” (Street 20).
I observed this kind of thinking about literacy when talking to two of the teachers at the Tolton Center. Again, let me stress that I do not disagree with how these teachers do their jobs. I admire their passion and dedication. What I want to do is ask what model of literacy could work better to satisfy the needs of urban minority communities.
[Brock]
Brock has been a math teacher at the Tolton Center for 7 years. He works with students who have not received any formal math instruction in many years, preparing them to pass the math portion of the GED test. Brock teaches algebra, geometry, fractions, decimals, percentages, conversions… the math skills that students are supposed to learn in four years of high school. Brock knows that some of these skills have practical uses in his students’ lives, while others are simply used to pass the GED test. Still, he is dedicated to his cause because he believes that literacy will improve the lives of the students.
“[These skills will] change the way they’ll communicate. They’ll be able to stay on topic… they’ll be able to have conversations about To Kill a Mockingbird… It’s going to open a new door to meeting new people… a door to the world. They’ll gain relevance in the world.”
Brock believes in cultural literacy; the idea that you need to know certain things to keep up with what is going on in your society. He believes that literacy helps makes you into a productive citizen.
[Janet]
Janet is the language arts teacher at Tolton. She also believes in cultural literacy and tries to incorporate some social skills into her teaching.
“We don’t expect to provide [students] with everything they should have. There are too many variables. We help them pass the GED and attach some social skills like the ability to work as a team, to have manners, to have etiquette. These are all parts of what it takes to succeed.”
She also believes that the literacy skills she is teaching will help her students adapt to the increasing competitiveness in today’s workforce.
“Literacy gives you the ability to be competitive in society…. in employment, in understanding what society needs… the expectations they must meet from employers. Are you able to think critically, not just to believe people’s words blindly?”
I think that Street would disagree with Janet and say that “faith in the power and qualities of literacy is itself socially learnt” (Street 1). He may say that literacy has no inherent value. However, I have seen that Janet’s approach works with her students. Her students see her as a teacher, mentor, and parent figure. With a heavy hand, she encourages them to learn the skills—to play the game—that will get them further up the socioeconomic ladder.
Although Street and other literacy scholars have been very critical of the autonomous model, my aim is not to criticize those who follow that model here. I have seen the effects of literacy in the self-esteem of Tolton Center students. I am not about to criticize a model that serves to increase the self-respect of adults who have been beaten down by the hegemonic system in which the live. I simply want to raise awareness of the difference between literacy in theory and literacy in practice.
According to Street, the autonomous model of literacy “assumes a single direction in which literacy development can be traced, and associates it with ‘progress’, ‘civilization’, individual literacy and social mobility… It isolates literacy as an independent variable and then claims to be able to study its consequences. These consequences are classically represented in terms of economic ‘take off’ or in terms of cognitive skills” (Street 2).
In other words, the autonomous model sees literacy as the key to upward social mobility and critical thinking. It emphasizes the idea of “the great divide” between those who are literate (who by this model can develop logical and abstract thinking skills) and those who are not (who by this model cannot). The autonomous model claims that literacy learning is politically neutral; that literacy is a technical skill devoid of sociopolitical implications. (Street 21) The model also emphasizes the inherent value of literacy.
Street writes that those who follow the autonomous model believe that “there are functions of language that are significantly affected by the mastery of a writing system, particularly logical functions. Written forms, they argue, enable the user to… maintain social or interpersonal relations between people” (Street 20).
I observed this kind of thinking about literacy when talking to two of the teachers at the Tolton Center. Again, let me stress that I do not disagree with how these teachers do their jobs. I admire their passion and dedication. What I want to do is ask what model of literacy could work better to satisfy the needs of urban minority communities.
[Brock]
Brock has been a math teacher at the Tolton Center for 7 years. He works with students who have not received any formal math instruction in many years, preparing them to pass the math portion of the GED test. Brock teaches algebra, geometry, fractions, decimals, percentages, conversions… the math skills that students are supposed to learn in four years of high school. Brock knows that some of these skills have practical uses in his students’ lives, while others are simply used to pass the GED test. Still, he is dedicated to his cause because he believes that literacy will improve the lives of the students.
“[These skills will] change the way they’ll communicate. They’ll be able to stay on topic… they’ll be able to have conversations about To Kill a Mockingbird… It’s going to open a new door to meeting new people… a door to the world. They’ll gain relevance in the world.”
Brock believes in cultural literacy; the idea that you need to know certain things to keep up with what is going on in your society. He believes that literacy helps makes you into a productive citizen.
[Janet]
Janet is the language arts teacher at Tolton. She also believes in cultural literacy and tries to incorporate some social skills into her teaching.
“We don’t expect to provide [students] with everything they should have. There are too many variables. We help them pass the GED and attach some social skills like the ability to work as a team, to have manners, to have etiquette. These are all parts of what it takes to succeed.”
She also believes that the literacy skills she is teaching will help her students adapt to the increasing competitiveness in today’s workforce.
“Literacy gives you the ability to be competitive in society…. in employment, in understanding what society needs… the expectations they must meet from employers. Are you able to think critically, not just to believe people’s words blindly?”
I think that Street would disagree with Janet and say that “faith in the power and qualities of literacy is itself socially learnt” (Street 1). He may say that literacy has no inherent value. However, I have seen that Janet’s approach works with her students. Her students see her as a teacher, mentor, and parent figure. With a heavy hand, she encourages them to learn the skills—to play the game—that will get them further up the socioeconomic ladder.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Works Cited
Works Cited
Baron, Dennis. “From Pencils to Pixels: The Stages of Literacy Technologies.”
Literacy: A Critical Sourcebook. Ed. Cushman, et al. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 70-84. Print.
Goodman, Yetta. “The Development of Initial Literacy.” Literacy: A Critical
Sourcebook. Ed. Cushman, et al. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 316-324.
Print.
Graff, Harvey. The Literacy Myth. New York: Academic Press, 1979.
Kozol, Jonathan. “The Myth of Impotence: What Should Be Done?” Illiterate America.
New York: Plume, 1985. 89-101. Print.
Lytle, Susan. "Living Literacy: Rethinking Development in Adulthood." Literacy: A Critical
Sourcebook. Ed. Cushman, et al. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 376-401.
Print.
Ong, Walter J. "Writing is a Technology that Restructures Thought." Literacy: A Critical
Sourcebook. Ed. Cushman, et al. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 19-31.
Print.
Prendergast, Catherine. Literacy and Racial Justice. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois UP, 2003.
Baron, Dennis. “From Pencils to Pixels: The Stages of Literacy Technologies.”
Literacy: A Critical Sourcebook. Ed. Cushman, et al. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 70-84. Print.
Goodman, Yetta. “The Development of Initial Literacy.” Literacy: A Critical
Sourcebook. Ed. Cushman, et al. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 316-324.
Print.
Graff, Harvey. The Literacy Myth. New York: Academic Press, 1979.
Kozol, Jonathan. “The Myth of Impotence: What Should Be Done?” Illiterate America.
New York: Plume, 1985. 89-101. Print.
Lytle, Susan. "Living Literacy: Rethinking Development in Adulthood." Literacy: A Critical
Sourcebook. Ed. Cushman, et al. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 376-401.
Print.
Ong, Walter J. "Writing is a Technology that Restructures Thought." Literacy: A Critical
Sourcebook. Ed. Cushman, et al. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 19-31.
Print.
Prendergast, Catherine. Literacy and Racial Justice. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois UP, 2003.
What’s it worth to you?
"Increasingly, scholars have found literacy to be a resource with potential, but by no means guarantees for individuals at the mercy of larger economic and social forces." (Prendergast 5)
"… Moreover, there is surprisingly little agreement on or specific evidence for the benefits of literacy, whether socially or individually, economically or culturally." (Graff 3)
"Economists, sociologists, planners, and governments inform us that literacy rates correlate with scores of factors, ranging from individual attitudes to economic growth and industrialization, per-capita wealth and GNP, political stability and participatory democracy, urbanization and vital rates, communications and consumption—to list only a few of the correlations reported. There is a certain logic behind many of these correlations; however, no convincing or documented explanations or analyses correspond to them." (Graff 9)
“A lot of jobs I applied to and you needed a high school diploma. If you want a higher paying job, your GED helps you.” – Brenda, Tolton Center student
The quotes above illustrate the apparent disconnect between what scholars have found that literacy does and does not do and what the students at adult literacy sites believe that literacy will help them achieve.
So, whose side is right? What is literacy good for? And, as Prendergast asks, “who benefits from proposing literacy as the answer to all social malaise?” (Prendergast 5)
[Brenda]
Brenda took her GED test last week. She spent seven hours sitting in a classroom downtown on a Saturday with only a 45-minute break for lunch. She must believe in the power of literacy or else she would not have made such an investment. Brenda believes that literacy has direct social, individual, economic, and cultural benefits.
“Literacy is a great purpose in life. We need it in everyday life. We use it in everyday life. It’s not just reading and writing. It’s the way you present yourself by communicating with others. It helps you be a better communicator. Your sentences are better. You can write letters and represent yourself better in those letters… I think people kind of look down on [illiterates]… like they are not capable to learn.”
"… Moreover, there is surprisingly little agreement on or specific evidence for the benefits of literacy, whether socially or individually, economically or culturally." (Graff 3)
"Economists, sociologists, planners, and governments inform us that literacy rates correlate with scores of factors, ranging from individual attitudes to economic growth and industrialization, per-capita wealth and GNP, political stability and participatory democracy, urbanization and vital rates, communications and consumption—to list only a few of the correlations reported. There is a certain logic behind many of these correlations; however, no convincing or documented explanations or analyses correspond to them." (Graff 9)
“A lot of jobs I applied to and you needed a high school diploma. If you want a higher paying job, your GED helps you.” – Brenda, Tolton Center student
The quotes above illustrate the apparent disconnect between what scholars have found that literacy does and does not do and what the students at adult literacy sites believe that literacy will help them achieve.
So, whose side is right? What is literacy good for? And, as Prendergast asks, “who benefits from proposing literacy as the answer to all social malaise?” (Prendergast 5)
[Brenda]
Brenda took her GED test last week. She spent seven hours sitting in a classroom downtown on a Saturday with only a 45-minute break for lunch. She must believe in the power of literacy or else she would not have made such an investment. Brenda believes that literacy has direct social, individual, economic, and cultural benefits.
“Literacy is a great purpose in life. We need it in everyday life. We use it in everyday life. It’s not just reading and writing. It’s the way you present yourself by communicating with others. It helps you be a better communicator. Your sentences are better. You can write letters and represent yourself better in those letters… I think people kind of look down on [illiterates]… like they are not capable to learn.”
Adult literacy in action - The Tolton Center
The Tolton Center is an adult literacy center located in the West Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago, a low-income neighborhood that, according to a Tolton Center brochure, was actually profiled by the Chicago Sun-Times as one of the deadliest in Chicago for adults and children. Driving through the neighborhood’s crowded streets, one can see the dilapidated buildings and boarded-up businesses that Tolton Center students see every day. According to many of the students at the Tolton Center, gang activity and violence are common occurrences in the neighborhood. Furthermore, West Garfield Park is a neighborhood that lacks opportunities for upward social mobility. It is plagued by underperforming schools and few job opportunities. According to the Cook Country Clerk’s Office, 35% of people in West Garfield Park live below the poverty line. In this neighborhood, literacy and education are not considered the status quo: close to 24% of residents of West Garfield Park do not have a high school diploma. The curriculum of the Center focuses primarily on GED preparation.
I interviewed some of the students that I tutored this quarter about their thoughts on literacy, its worth, and its uses. I’ll be sharing those interviews in the posts that follow. Along with the interviews, I will also interject relevant information from literacy scholars as well as my understanding of where literacy scholarship and adult literacy acquisition agree and clash.
Caveat: Although I attempted to transcribe the interviews staying as close to what the students said as possible, my transcriptions are not perfect.
I interviewed some of the students that I tutored this quarter about their thoughts on literacy, its worth, and its uses. I’ll be sharing those interviews in the posts that follow. Along with the interviews, I will also interject relevant information from literacy scholars as well as my understanding of where literacy scholarship and adult literacy acquisition agree and clash.
Caveat: Although I attempted to transcribe the interviews staying as close to what the students said as possible, my transcriptions are not perfect.
The meaning of literacy
Although much of education policy focuses on the acquisition of this ambiguous quality, there is no consensus on a specific definition for the term. In fact, few of the prominent literacy scholars attempt to define the term concretely. Instead, they illustrate the complexity of the term and its uses.
“The meanings and uses of literacy are more complex and diverse than… typical questions or tests allow” (Graff 5).
“Literacy is imperious. It tends to arrogate to itself supreme power by taking itself as normative for human expression and thought” (Ong 19).
“Literacy has always functioned to divide haves from have-nots…” (Baron 83).
“… learning language is learning how to mean” (Goodman 317).
“From this point of view, being and becoming literate means using knowledge and experience to make sense of and act on the world” (Lytle 382) .
How do you define literacy?
“The meanings and uses of literacy are more complex and diverse than… typical questions or tests allow” (Graff 5).
“Literacy is imperious. It tends to arrogate to itself supreme power by taking itself as normative for human expression and thought” (Ong 19).
“Literacy has always functioned to divide haves from have-nots…” (Baron 83).
“… learning language is learning how to mean” (Goodman 317).
“From this point of view, being and becoming literate means using knowledge and experience to make sense of and act on the world” (Lytle 382) .
How do you define literacy?
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